Zombies vs. White Zetsu

Kaedeji had guessed correctly.

If anyone else approached Nagato, Madara would not interfere—but Kaedeji had arrived.

What would someone capable of controlling corpses, making them wield the strength and ninjutsu they had possessed in life, think upon seeing Nagato, who had the Rinnegan?

Of course, perhaps Kaedeji's technique had also reminded Madara of that utterly disgusting bastard, Senju Tobirama, stirring his killing intent.

In any case, Madara had instructed White Zetsu to handle Such Matters many times already.

"Come to think of it, Nagato has not truly matured yet. He has studied under Jiraiya for over two years, and at most has enough strength to protect himself. He is still far from becoming a Strong Person on his own, so this is precisely when he needs careful protection."

Kaedeji moved swiftly with his three Subordinates. Through the zombies, his sight had long since Fell Upon White Zetsu.

He had originally been planning how to join Danzo and Orochimaru's human experimentation project at the right opportunity, so that he could gain access to Hashirama Cells.

But there was no need to worry about that now. White Zetsu cells were, at worst, an inferior version of Hashirama Cells. They possessed many of the same traits and could be used without concern.

"This is truly a fine opportunity. Though it has drawn Madara's attention and created unnecessary risks, it is worth it."

Kaedeji's body was drenched in cold rain, yet he felt not the slightest discomfort. As heat surged through his heart, every muscle in his body tensed instinctively, and the steam radiating from within him visibly dispersed.

White Zetsu's main body arrived, leading a group of underlings as it stared at the zombies before it.

"They can move, carry out orders, and the moment they discovered me, they stopped and prepared for battle... Can they truly be controlled from afar merely through a technique? Or are these corpses acting on their own?"

No matter how erratic White Zetsu's thoughts were, it realized that something was wrong with these corpses—if they truly possessed a degree of instinct, were they really corpses?

Were they alive or dead?

"Ehh? Do you poop? Why aren't you talking?"

White Zetsu stretched out a hand, wiggling several fingers as though it were truly manipulating puppets on strings. "Once I catch you, I'll ask you one by one, and I'll definitely find out... If I kill you dead people, will you die again? And if you die, will you keep coming back to life?"

Several White Zetsu accelerated into a run and charged at the zombies.

The zombies moved in unison without a word, charging Head-on at the White Zetsu.

To a certain extent, this was a clash between two completely different kinds of puppets. Neither side feared death; they possessed only the resolve to Give Everything to complete their mission.

In an Instant, more than a dozen figures collided amid the curtain of rain. Every sound of battle was swallowed by the dreadful patter of raindrops, while the brutal, bloody slaughter and the ghastly sight of flying flesh were washed away with the rain.

During the battle, several zombies even joined forces to unleash Water Release. With the help of the weather, it achieved an even greater effect, sweeping several White Zetsu away on the spot.

"Oh my? I'd heard Such Matters from the other White Zetsu, but seeing it with my own eyes still gave me a fright. They can actually use the ninjutsu they had in life? No Wonder Lord Madara wants Kaedeji dead."

White Zetsu muttered to itself.

At the same time, in a puddle some distance away, a shadow-like mass quietly wriggled, also watching this unprecedented battle in surprise.

It was all too familiar with White Zetsu. They were merely combat weapons Mother had created by modifying the Natives of this planet.

But what was going on with these corpses?

"A technique that controls corpses in battle... how interesting. But The Caster is about to die."

Black Zetsu cared more than anyone about Nagato's safety. Madara could die, but Nagato could not. If Nagato absolutely had to die, then At Least Black Zetsu had to take the Rinnegan away!

As long as it had the Rinnegan and the Ten-Tails, it would Have the Opportunity to free Mother. It had waited for more than a thousand years before finally gaining this one chance. It would never allow any accident to occur.

"Wait a little longer. It is not yet time for me to show myself. I need to find a suitable opportunity." Black Zetsu shrank back into the puddle and played dead again.

As time passed, the number of figures dwindled continuously, with both sides falling one after another.

White Zetsu personally Make a Move, piercing a zombie's chest. It then severed the zombie's head with its forearm before stomping down and crushing the head.

"What a nuisance. Unless their heads are destroyed, there is simply no way to stop these corpses. This technique is formidable."

White Zetsu looked around, intending to pick up a zombie that had lost its ability to move but whose head remained intact, then take it back.

"You still want to bite me when you're like this?" White Zetsu looked in surprise at the zombie baring its teeth. As though it had found a special toy, it immediately became delighted.

But it soon had to stop what it was doing, because it discovered that even more zombies had arrived.

White Zetsu feared nothing less than a battle of numbers, so it immediately summoned more than ten White Zetsu.

A larger battle erupted, and the fighting grew Even More intense. White Zetsu possessed extremely vigorous life force; many injuries meant nothing to them. The zombies likewise did not care about injuries, often preferring to trade wound for wound.

All kinds of ninjutsu erupted in succession, causing the ground to tremble faintly. Figures constantly fell, yet new figures joined one after another.

Finally, after losing twenty-seven White Zetsu—and after trying to take advantage of the chaos to fall down and disguise itself as a zombie, only to be killed by the zombies immediately—White Zetsu could no longer hold itself together.

Madara had only created White Zetsu not long ago. There were fewer than a hundred in total, and they still had to be scattered throughout the ninja world to gather intelligence. They could not be squandered so recklessly.

"They can actually see through my disguise technique? This sensory ability is way too outrageous! If this keeps going, the losses will be too great. Lord Madara will kill me! Just how many corpses has This Guy stockpiled...?"

White Zetsu held its head, its face filled with disbelief.

"Rather than you killing me, why not let me kill you? I came Proactively because I want to see with my own eyes what exactly you identical-looking things are. You can actually fight my zombies to this extent."

Kaedeji appeared on the battlefield with three Root ninja.

The three Root ninja quickly surveyed the figures sprawled all over the ground, focusing especially on the identical-looking White Zetsu, their faces full of confusion.

"What are these white things? Some kind of ninjutsu? Why are they stopping us from looking for Lord Jiraiya?"

"Perhaps it is similar to the Second Tsuchikage's Splitting Technique, splitting many copies of itself from a single main body."

The Root ninja possessed considerable intelligence analysis skills, and their first reaction was to try to analyze the enemy's technique.

Komatsu Fuji asked, "Lord Kaedeji, you have already fought these people. Who are they?"

"That is not important to you at all. You may not have realized one thing: once you see these things, your fate is to die here. For the sake of the future, this is a sacrifice you must make," Kaedeji said slowly.